Comprehensively Strengthening Party Discipline

By+YANG+YINGJIE

THE sixth plenary session of the 18th Communist Party of China（CPC） Central Committee was convened from October 24 to 27 in Beijing. An exceptionally important meeting as the country comprehensively deepens reform in this crucial period of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-around way， the plenum commended the Partys achievements in comprehensively strengthening Party discipline. After analyzing the new situations and new tasks related to Party building， the meeting made new， important deployments under new situations which will assuredly further advance the long march of strengthening Party building.

The plenum approved “The Norms of Political Life within the Party under Current Conditions” and also “The Regulations on Intra-Party Supervision.” The two documents are expected to be strategic measures through which the Party will comprehensively strengthen Party discipline， regulate political life within the Party， and strengthen intra-Party supervision. They possess both historical and practical significance for the country and the Party at a new historical articulation point.

New Historical Articulation Point

What does this new historical articulation point mean for China？ It can be viewed both economically and politically.

First， the economic achievements China has achieved have amazed the entire world. The pace of Chinas economic development over the past several decades has exceeded by far that of either Western countries or East Asian countries. It has taken China 28 years to expand its per capita GDP from US$448 in 1950 to US $978 in 1978. A further 34 years was spent on increasing per capita GDP from US $978， when the country first embarked on its reform and opening-up drive， to US$9，400 in 2012. It took the U.K. 968 years， France 968 years， Germany 969 years， the U.S. 332 years， and Japan 972 years to achieve the same degree of development that China accomplished in just 62 years.

Chinas economy has now been steered into a “new normal” stage. General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping pointed out in his report， made in early 2016 at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee， that the economic new normal is not an event， but a kind of state， which should not be judged as good or bad. Xi so summarized Chinas present three articulation points： The first is an articulation point wherein the economy gears down from high to medium-to-high speed； the second is an articulation point for economic structural adjustment， which entails further structural upgrading； and the third is an articulation point wherein the economic development changes from factordriven and investment-driven to innovation-driven.

Politically， with regard to cases of corrupt officialdom since the 18th CPC National Congress， the forms of corruption and the people involved in it have increased exponentially， and the resultant destructive influence has more than doubled. Corruption now relates not only to economy； it is also closely entwined with political issues， and hence impinges on the political system.

Since introduction of the reform and opening-up policy， the CPC has closely monitored and attached great importance to the anti-corruption campaign， and achieved some positive results. But the overall situation with regard to the anticorruption drive， as adjudged by General Secretary Xi， remains grim and complicated. The problems that the corruption cases， investigated since the 18th CPC National Congress， have exposed and that the CPC Central Committee inspection teams searched out also reflect an intense and complex battle against corruption which involves both high-ranking officials and grassroots cadres.

Xi Jinping pointed out， “It is based on our summary and deep reflection of historical lessons， both domestically and internationally， that our Party has elevated Party building and the construction of a clean government， as well as the anti-corruption drive， to a level that is decisive to the fate of the Party and the nation. There are countless examples in Chinese history of regimes that had been overthrown as a direct result of rampant corruption. Even today， you can find numerous cases throughout the world of ruling parties that have lost power due to corruption and their resultant alienation from the people.”

Based on profound understanding of history， and realistic judgment about the serious and complex nature of the anticorruption drive and its development trend， General Secretary Xi Jinping declared that combating corruption is essential for the country to achieve its great rejuvenation， and that it is a battle the CPC cannot afford to lose.

Xi pointed out that standardizing intra-Party life is crucial to strengthening Party building and discipline under current conditions， and that the CPC Central Committee， by devoting an entire plenum to discussing this topic， underlines the critical role of intra-Party political life in resolving the prominent problems and contradictions within the Party.

The Vital Importance of Institutional Building

Intra-Party supervision is both an important feature and a guarantee of Party building， Xi Jinping said. Strengthening supervision within the CPC necessitates a timely transformation of the practice and exploration of Party building and intra-Party supervision into effective systems that bear clearly-defined responsibilities.

Comprehensive strengthening of Party discipline is the clear theme of the plenum. Since the 18th CPC National Congress， the Partys institutional building and ideological building have advanced hand-in-hand. Deng Xiaoping said during his 1992 inspection tour of South China， “Im afraid it will take 30 years for China to form a whole set of mature and well-shaped systems.” This will happen on the centenary of the founding of the CPC， which will also witness completion of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

The 18th CPC National Congress stressed bringing institutional building to the forefront. The third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee set improving and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics and advancing modernization of the state governance system and governance capability as the general goal of comprehensively deepened reform. The ensuing fourth plenum zeroed in on how to provide institutionalized solutions to a range of major issues related to the development of the Party and the country. The fifth plenum endorsed once more sticking to the rule of law as the main guiding ideology for Chinas development during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. The sixth plenary session proposed the combination of Party ideology institutional guarantees for effective party building.

Xi Jinping declared that one major historical task that the CPC must now undertake is to form a complete range of more mature well-conceived systems.

Comprehensively Strengthening Party Discipline

With regard to the matter of how to standardize intra-Party political life， the sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee made comprehensive deployment， and deliberated and approved “The Norms of Political Life within the Party under Current Conditions.” This is the first document regulating intra-Party political life since 1980， when the CPC formulated the Codes on Intra-Party Political Life. In specifying 12 aspects， including fortifying ideology and conviction， strengthening Party political discipline， advocating intra-Party democracy， guaranteeing Party members rights， improving the promotion system， and intensifying the restriction and supervision of power， the document sets down clear requirements for standardizing intra-Party political life.

The sixth plenum stressed that the focus of standardizing intra-Party political life under current conditions should be on leading organs and leading cadres of various levels， in particular high-ranking officials that include members of the CPC Central Committee， its political bureau， and the Politburo Standing Committee.

Meanwhile， the sixth plenum also approved another document – “The Regulations on Intra-Party Supervision.” Its theme is clear： Under current conditions， standardizing intra-Party political life takes place on the premise of tightening intra-Party supervision. But as normative intra-Party political life is a guarantee of effective intra-Party supervision， the two sides are in fact complementary， and should be addressed in tandem as a common task of the whole Party.

The 19th CPC National Congress is scheduled to be convened in the second half of 2017. It is an important political event for the Party and the country. Indepth study and full implementation of the ideas proposed at the sixth plenum， now underway throughout the whole Party， will be of exceptional significance to the Party as it leads the entire nation in forging ahead.